it's not over yet
by kingslayers
Summary: He almost smiles, and somehow it's more sad than if he'd cried. "Coming to a reunion to say goodbye," he says, and it's almost bitter, but not quite, and almost amused, but not quite. "If that's not the most Lucy Weasley thing I've ever heard." / Lucy Weasley is very good at leaving. She's not quite as good at coming home, but she's trying, just this once. —lucy-centric


**written for:** the houses competition

 **house:** slytherin

 **category:** themed — goodbye (theme)

 **prompts:** Christmas [Event]

 **word count:** 4998

 **warnings** : some swearing

 **notes** : okay i have an exam tomorrow and i'm exhausted and it's after 2am so i'm just really happy to have this done? this is set in my e-3, which is the name i use to refer to the nextgen headcanon i've been exploring recently, and it's several years after they've all left hogwarts. lucy is the year below rose and albus, for anyone curious! also, because this is in a 'verse i've been thinking about a lot recently, it means i'm definitely going to revisit all of these guys some time if anyone wants to see more of them, especially during their school years.

 **disclaimer** : disclaimed.

* * *

Lucy deliberates with herself, a lot, about whether she's going.

It's been six years since her last Weasley Christmas—which really means her entire family, any family friends and love interests, because her family can't do anything halfway—and she's not entirely sure she's ready for this to be the year she returns to the fray.

For a moment, she thinks about calling Biddy. Lucy's lucky enough to have been able to call all of her dormmates her best friends, especially Roxanne, but Biddy's the one whose opinion she wants right now. She's always been the straightest talker of all of them, and Lucy thinks she needs that right now.

The thing is, she hasn't talked to Biddy in about a year, not really. The last thing Lucy remembers sending her was a hastily-scrawled postcard from New Zealand, which probably didn't even have a viable return address on it.

She bites her lip, then pulls out the crappy phone she bought when she arrived back in England. There aren't any numbers saved, but she's called Biddy so many times over the years that she has no problem keying the number in from memory.

It rings for a few moments, and then—

"Hello?"

"Biddy?" Lucy says, slightly breathless because she hadn't realised quite how much she'd missed her until she heard her voice.

There's a pause. " _Lucy?_ " Biddy says incredulously.

"Yeah," Lucy says. "Hey."

"Oh my _god_ ," Biddy says, but Lucy thinks she's speaking to herself more than to Lucy, so she doesn't say anything. "Holy shit, I can't believe it!"

Lucy laughs. "I missed you, Bid," she says.

"Yeah, well, you're the crazy girl who went running around the world by herself without a phone!" Biddy retorts, but then her voice softens slightly. "I missed you too, Weasley."

"Speaking of running around the world…" Lucy begins.

"Oh, yeah, where in the world are you calling me from?" Biddy teases. "Germany, Peru…?"

"Actually… I'm on Tottenham Court Road," Lucy says awkwardly.

There's silence on the other end for a moment. Then—

" _What?"_ Biddy demands.

"Yeah," Lucy says, grimacing slightly. "I sort of… I mean, it's Christmas, but…"

"Are you going to your family's party?" Biddy asks suddenly.

"That's… kinda why I called," Lucy says, twisting the cord of the phone as she speaks. "I'm not sure?"

Biddy is quiet for a moment. "D'you have any reasons not to go other than general awkwardness?" she asks.

"I'm not sure how well a 'hello' which is also a 'goodbye' will go down," Lucy says. "I mean, I _want_ to see everyone, if only because I didn't really say goodbye last time, but… I'm not staying."

"Sounds to me like you're being silly," Biddy says finally.

Lucy's eyebrows shoot up. Of all the reactions she had imagined, this wasn't one of them. "Silly?" she echoed.

"Yep," Biddy said firmly. "Look, I get why you're nervous—goodbyes are hard, yadi-yadi-yada, you probably haven't been in contact as much as you should, whatever—but you know what? You're here, in England, at _Christmas_. You didn't come home now randomly, and you miss everyone, whether or not you're any good at admitting it. Also, your family would murder you if they found out you were back at _Christmas_ and didn't show up!"

Lucy smiles slightly. "I guess you're right," she says.

She hears Biddy laugh through the phone. "You _guess_?" she asks. "Come on, Weasley, you've got a Christmas party to crash. What are you still doing talking to me?"

"I'm not sure it counts as crashing if I'm part of the family," Lucy protests, but laughs. "Yeah, all right. Will I see you there?"

"Maybe," Biddy replies. "I'm actually at my grandparents' for Christmas dinner this year, but I told Rox that I'd drop by after if there's still any of the night left after Uncle Egbert tells his terrible work stories."

Lucy laughs. "All right, good luck surviving that," she says. "Catch you on the flip side."

x

She takes a deep breath, then knocks on the door.

"You're lucky I was nearby," Louis is saying as he opens the door, "because nobody in the living room would've heard that over the noise…" He trails off when he catches sight of Lucy, literally stopping in his tracks, door only half open.

"Hi Lou," Lucy says quietly, offering up a hesitant, sheepish smile.

To his credit, he recovers quickly. "Hey, Luce," he says, not quite smiling, but not unfriendly either. He mostly seems startled. Lucy can't really blame him.

"Can I come in?" she asks.

He starts, as if he's only just realised he's blocking the entry. "Oh, shit, yeah, 'course, come in," he says, stepping back and opening the door wider. "Sorry, I was just…"

He trails off again, but Lucy nudges him affectionately with her shoulder. "I get it," she says reassuringly. She stands in the corridor and unwinds the scarf from around her neck, hanging it up on the coatrack. She quickly surveys her surroundings. The Burrow has changed a lot in her life, with her uncles installing extensions in it during the summer of her second year just for occasions like this. Still, it looks less haphazard than usual, and there's new furniture.

"Grandma done some decorating?" she asks Louis, who snorts.

"It was _Maman_ and your dad," he says. "Uncle Percy thought it would be nice if it was a bit more manoeuvrable because Grandma and Gramps are getting on in the years, and then nobody trusted his taste so my mother got involved… _et voilà_."

Lucy nods, recognising their touch now that it's been pointed out. She glances down the corridor, to the door which leads to the living room, and then at Louis.

"How'd you reckon it'll go?" she asks.

He doesn't pretend not to know what she's talking about. "You are going to be _swamped_ for hugs by the adults," he says. "At least, Grandma, which… might actually be good, because it'll give everyone else a moment to get their wits together."

Lucy huffs a laugh. "Small mercies, huh?" she asks.

"Yeah," Louis says, smiling slightly. He glances quickly at her. "Luce…" he says, "what kind of visit is this?"

She shrugs at him. "I'm not staying, if that's what you're asking," she says. "At least, not for long. But—nothing's wrong, or anything. I just missed you all."

Louis nods slowly. "All right," he says. "I've got your back, then."

She smiles briefly. "Thanks, Lou."

He grins down at her, the first proper smile she's seen on him in years—which is her fault, obviously, because she's the one who left, but that doesn't mean she hasn't missed it fiercely. "Any time," he says, giving her an affectionate one-armed hug.

When he opens the door, Lucy feels like she's walked into a wall of sound. There is yelling, chatting, laughing, bickering and, somewhere in the crowd, she can hear her Dad talking very earnestly to someone about broomstick regulations. It's loud and chaotic and she drinks it all up, breathing it in as if she can hold it in her chest for the rest of her life.

The first person to notice her is Albus, which is unsurprising. He's always been the most observant of them. He's mid-coversation with his brother, but he stops as soon as he sees her, the only sign of astonishment in his expression the slight widening of his eyes.

James turns to see what's got his brother's attention, and his jaw drops, before he swears loudly. "Holy—" he starts saying again, before shaking his head and surging forward. " _Lucy!"_ he exclaims, sweeping her up into a hug. He spins her around once before depositing her on the ground. "Shit!" he says, but it sounds more admiring than admonishing, though Lucy's not sure why.

Everyone starts talking over each other, barking out greetings and questions and exclamations, but Lucy only has eyes for one person. She spots her mother over Hugo's head, and just sprints right over into her mother's waiting arms. It's been a long time since she's hugged her mother, and she's not about to let anything get in the way of that right now.

"I've missed you so much, Luce," her mother says, and Lucy clutches her tighter.

"Me too, Mum," she says softly. "Me too."

x

Eventually, everyone calms down. There's a bit of shouting—mostly courtesy of Grandma, who expresses her affection through concern and volume—and a whole lot of hugging, but eventually it's time to eat.

There are way too many people to all eat at the table, so the older generation takes the table whereas all the cousins and their companions end up scattered around the living room.

She's been gone for a long time, and there's lots of gossip to catch up on.

"So… hang on," Teddy says, furrowing a brow. "You haven't been at Christmas for… what, six years?"

Lucy blushes, but nods. "Yeah. I mean, I was here three years ago, for Roxanne's twenty-first, but I haven't been back since then." She shrugs. "I guess I got really used to the nomadic life."

Teddy nods, but Lliy breaks in. "But that means you don't know who's dating _anyone_!" she exclaims.

Lucy winces, but luckily, it looks like everyone else is too engaged in their own conversations to have heard Lily. Lucy looks around the room properly for the first time. She'd been so busy catching up with all of those in her near vicinity that she hadn't really taken note of everyone else in the room, but she realises now just how many people in the room are unrelated to her.

She raises an eyebrow at Lily. "I guess not," she says wryly.

Rose flops down beside Lucy. "Are we filling Luce in on gossip?" she demands.

Lily nods, then catches sight of someone on the other side of the room. "You do it, Rosie. I'm going to save Fred from Mia," she says, sighing good-naturedly as she goes to mediate between her former classmate and her cousin.

"Mia Urquhart?" Lucy asks, raising an eyebrow at Rose. "Is she dating Hugo?"

Rose snorts. "No," she answers. "They're just mates. I think she might have a thing with one of the Wood twins or Jules' younger brother, though," she adds, frowning slightly. "Not sure which. Anyway, Hu just brings her along because she's great at making Dad squirm." Rose grins.

Lucy laughs. "You guys still torturing Uncle Ron, then?"

Rose shrugs. "Hey, it's good for him to be told off a little every once in a while. Keeps him humble."

Albus, overhearing this, rolls his eyes. "Oh, please," he teases, dropping down on the other side of Lucy. "You just like seeing what colours his face can turn."

Rose shrugs again, but she grins, not refuting his statement.

"Why are we talking about torturing Uncle Ron?" Albus inquires.

"We're meant to be filling me in on everything that's changed while I've been away," Lucy explains.

"Oh," Albus says, furrowing his brow, before glancing at Rose. "Grandma keeps trying to find out if Teddy's ever gonna make an honest woman out of Vic," he says.

"Nobody's quite figured out how to tell her that Victoire doesn't _want_ anyone to make an honest woman out of her," Rose says, rolling her eyes at the phrase 'honest woman'. "Besides, she and Teddy have an… arrangement which might get complicated by a wedding."

Lucy raises an eyebrow.

"They're not exactly… exclusive," Albus says evasively.

"They're not together?" Lucy asks, furrowing her brow.

"No, they are," Rose quickly corrects. "They're just not the only ones in the relationship." She exchanges a glance with Albus, which Lucy takes to mean they won't say anything more on the subject. She supposes that's fair. She'd never betray any of her cousins' trust, but that goes two ways: she'd rather hear about this from Victoire and know that it's something her cousin trusts her with than hear about it from a reluctant source.

"What about Lil?" Lucy asks, changing the subject.

"She's been having lunch with _someone_ recently, she just won't tell me who," Albus says wryly.

"Which means we know them," Rose chimes in.

Albus studies her. "You have a hunch," he accuses.

"Yep," Rose says, and blows him a kiss. Albus rolls his eyes, but there's a smile tugging at his lips, so Lucy assumes he's not mad.

"What about Dominique? I haven't seen her tonight," Lucy says, glancing around.

"Yeah, she's not here yet," Albus says. "She and Jules are driving from his parents' place in Wales, so she's meant to arrive in about two hours. They had an early dinner there, and it's about four, five hours from there."

Lucy looks shrewdly at her cousins. "Are they…" she trails off, raising her eyebrow to express her meaning.

Rose looks surprised for a moment, then her expression clears. "I forgot you haven't been back since then. Yeah, _finally_ ," Rose says. "I mean, I'm pretty sure she's known how she felt since they crashed his car back in…" she trails off, glancing at Al in askance.

"Our Seventh Year," he supplies.

"Yeah," Rose says, nodding at him. "Or, if she didn't know exactly how she felt, that was a bit of a wake-up call, but they officially got it together… I think a few weeks after Rox's birthday last time you were here?"

Lucy gives out a low whistle. That's almost four years… and she didn't know about any of it. Her heart lurches suddenly. She wonders what else she's missed.

She loves her travelling lifestyle, don't get her wrong, but tonight's shown her how much that lifestyle has cost her. Next time, she resolves, she'll be better at keeping in contact with everyone.

"What about you two?" Lucy asks. "Or the others? Any other significant developments?"

"Can you get me a drink?" Rose asks Albus, who's finished his own drink. He eyes her suspiciously, but she bats her eyes at him. "I don't want to get up," she says dramatically, and he rolls his eyes, but ruffles her hair fondly, going to retrieve drinks for the pair of them.

Rose waits until he's disappeared from the living room before she turns to Lucy. "James and Cassie eloped," she says at a quieter volume than before.

Lucy chokes on her own drink. "They _what?"_ she hisses.

"Eloped," Rose repeats. "He's a popular Quidditch player, she keeps cropping up in articles because of the reforms in the Ministry she's involved with, and they were just sick of everyone in the world feeling entitled to their business. So…" she trails off, shrugging.

Lucy narrows her eyes. "Why did you send Al away to tell me? Does he not know?" she asks.

Rose shakes her head quickly. "No, nothing like that, of course he knows. And he's happy for them, really. He's happy too, I think," she says.

Lucy tilts her head. "So why…?"

Rose shrugs, smiling a little sadly. "Oh, you know. Old wounds."

Lucy thinks back to the way Albus used to look at Cassie, and inhales sharply. "Old wounds," she repeats quietly, understanding in her tone.

Albus appears again, holding both his own drink and one for Rose. "Are you talking about Scorpius?" he asks.

Lucy looks sharply at Rose. "What about Scorpius?" she asks curiously.

Rose rolls her eyes at Albus, then glances to the far corner of the room, where Louis, Scorpius and—Lucy's heart stops for a moment—Lysander are talking.

"He's being sent to Italy to work as our Ministry's representative on this International Magical Law Council he and Mum have been working to establish," Rose says eventually. She glances at Lucy. "He's asked me if I'd come with him."

Lucy whistles lowly again. "Are you going to?" she asks.

Rose shrugs. "Maybe," she says, looking over at Scorpius again.

Lucy glances at Albus, who rolls his eyes in Rose's direction, before mouthing _YES_ at Lucy. She stifles a smile. Obviously, it comes down to Rose, but if she was going to trust anyone's assessment of what Rose was going to do, it would be Albus'.

She glances over at Lysander, and feels something lurch in her chest. It's not a feeling, exactly, so much as it is the ghost of one.

Albus notices, and puts his hand on hers. "You should talk to him," he says quietly.

Lucy nods, takes a deep breath, and stands.

x

They go outside, even though it's freezing, because it doesn't feel like a reunion that should happen in front of everyone.

Lucy doesn't know what to say. She just stares at the snow on the ground, as if it holds all the answers.

"I missed you," Lysander offers. She listens for a strain, anything like tension or heartbreak, but she doesn't find it. It helps her breathe, just a little.

"I missed you too," she says, looking up at him, lips quirked up in a half-smile. Then the smile falls from her face. "I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye," she says, all in a rush, scared that she won't say it at all if she doesn't say it right now.

Lysander stills for a moment, then breathes heavily. The expression on his face is an odd one: he's always had wild eyes, for as long as she's known him, and he's smirking, but it's all softer. More boy, less wolf.

"Yeah, I know," he says, scuffing his shoes against the deck. "Don't get me wrong, I was mad, but…" He exhales. "My granddad says it's no good to being mad at someone for being themselves, because they can't help it." He glances sidelong at her. "Anyway, we always got along so well because you never let anyone tell you what to do and did whatever you thought you needed to. Bit hypocritical if I started getting mad about that just because it stopped going my way."

Lucy doesn't think he's being entirely fair to himself. After all, _she_ holds herself accountable for leaving with very little ceremony, so she expects a bit of resentment from all the rest of them.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a _dick move_ ," Lysander adds, "and I think you owe all the girls apologies, but… I'm not mad about it anymore. I thought I was, but… I don't know, seeing you here, I'm not really mad anymore. I just missed having one of my best friends."

Lucy smiles up at him. "I missed you too," she says. "All of you. And yeah, I'll make sure to do all the rounds this time—I've talked to Biddy tonight, on the phone, but I'll definitely have to see her in person, and all the others too."

Lysander smiles briefly. "You should have a chance to catch Roxanne and Minnie later—you know how Roxanne's dating Minnie's cousin, the mechanic she works with?" he checks, to which Lucy nods. "Yeah, they're all having dinner at Minnie's parents' but she's bringing Danny and Minnie here later."

Lucy beams. "I haven't seen her since her birthday," she says excitedly, "and that's the only time I've met Danny either—it'll be nice to see them and Minnie again!"

Lysander laughs. "Minnie's absolutely going to tackle you," he says, sounding pleased about it.

Lucy checks him with her hip. "That's fine, as long as she still loves me afterwards," Lucy says.

"Oh, she will," Lysander says. "Girl's all love."

"Speaking of…" Lucy begins. "Any news on that front? With any of you?" She's not sure if it's an awkward question or not, but it's an important one. See, she and Lysander have always been among each other's best friends, but there were times where they were more, if not officially. It's been a long time since she's felt her heart swoop around Lysander, and she thinks it's the same for him too, but she can't be certain. Sometimes she still feels something like it when she thinks of him, but it's the echo of a feeling, like a memory of something that used to be. She's glad for it, she thinks. She'll always love Lysander, but she's not sure that old feeling could have survived all the years apart without turning into something bitter and twisted. Their friendship has more solid foundations, though, and it is those she thinks she can lean on and still find home.

Lysander shifts. "Biddy and Lorcan broke up," he says, shrugging, "but it was pretty amicable. They worked so well because they're both so passionate about things, but… sometimes passions pull you in two different directions."

"When was that?" Lucy asks, startled.

Lysander thinks. "Last year?" he suggests. "I reckon she and Noah have something developing, but it's nothing official yet."

Lucy thinks back to their Hogwarts days, and how their year group often claimed the couches in the Gryffindor common room, and how common the sound of Noah and Biddy debating was.

"I could see that," she says, smiling slightly. "Any other news?"

"Biddy's actually one of my flatmates right now," he says unexpectedly.

Lucy looks at him, astonished.

"It's cool. It works well for Lorcan, actually, because even though they're not dating anymore, he still gets her to name all of his creature companions, so she's always easy to find."

"Does Lorcan live there too?" she asks.

He snorts. "Not technically, but… basically, yeah. There's four of us with actual rooms, and then he takes the couch a lot... Oh! Minnie and Rhys are back together," he says.

"I wasn't aware they were ever together," Lucy says quizzically.

"I mean, I guess not technically, but they had that thing in Fifth Year? Well, they're actually together now. It's still sort of early days—it's only been a few months—but they're happy."

Lucy smiles. "I'm glad," she says sincerely. "Both that she's happy and that she's over my ridiculous cousins."

Lysander grimaces at that. "Actually…" he says. "She went out with Louis. And was Albus' date to Stefano's wedding," he says, referring to Teddy's best friend.

" _What?"_ Lucy demands. "When was this?"

"Stefano and Medea got hitched last year, and I think Louis was two years ago?" Lysander says. "There wasn't any leading on, don't worry. Best as I could figure, she and Louis had a good time and had several dates, but decided they were better off friends, and then she and Albus went to the wedding as friends. I think."

"Wow," Lucy says. "I guess that means James is the only relative of mine she ever had a crush on and didn't go out with, then?"

Lysander nods. "Unsurprising," he says. "No matter what the press says, Jamie's always been a one-woman kind of guy. Even when they weren't together, he's never really had eyes for anyone else."

Lucy digests this, nodding slowly. She still remembers that period when James and Cassie broke up, and the way he still looked at her like she'd hung the moon. Lucy's not the type to bet on high school sweethearts and first loves, especially given her own messy dating history, but it's hard not to hold faith in those two.

"What about you?" she says quietly, looking at him earnestly. She's not sure if it's an answer she wants to hear, but it's still something she has to ask. She owes it to him. Besides, she really does care.

"Oh, you know," he says, shrugging slightly, self-deprecating smile on his face, though it softens to something real when he notes the concern in her eyes. "I'm okay, Luce," he says. "I'm not in love with you anymore."

He doesn't say _if I ever was_ , which Lucy appreciates. She's not sure he was in love with her, and she's not sure she was in love with him, at least not the way she thinks about love now, but they definitely thought they were at one point, and it matters that it was true then, even if it isn't anymore.

"Okay," she says, stepping on her tip-toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "I just wanna say… I'm only sticking around for a few more days, so I don't know if I'll see you again after tonight, but… I'm glad I got to talk to you tonight, Ly."

He smiles down at her. "Me too, Luce," he says. "But—hey, just because this is goodbye doesn't mean you need to fall off the face of the earth again, yeah?" he teases. "I have a phone now and everything."

Lucy grins. "Guess what?" she says, pulling out her phone. "Me too."

x

It's half past midnight and, while she hates to admit it, Lucy's tired.

She's glad she's stayed up this long because it means she's seen everyone who's arrived late, from Dominique and Jules to Minnie, Roxanne and Danny. She actually cried with happiness when Minnie and Roxanne hugged her, but it's just because she's missed them all.

Most people are still around and awake, which is astonishing, but it makes her smile. They're worth staying with until any hour, she thinks.

She's sitting on the stairs, looking down at the entrance to the living room, where Lysander and Lorcan have parked themselves and are playing Exploding Snap with Uncle George, when she hears muffled swearing and what sounds a lot like Biddy's exasperated sigh.

She heads down, leaping over her uncle and the twins, and finds herself facing Biddy and Nicholas Flint.

Lucy's heart stops. Unlike when she saw Lysander, the sudden jackhammering of her heart coming back to life isn't the ghost of a feeling. It's something more real, more raw, and she's suddenly reminded very vividly of why she left in the first place.

"What are you doing here?" she blurts out, and it's rude and terrible but she can't bring herself to retract it. She's still staring at him. For his part, he seems equally shocked to see her there.

"I went back to the flat to change before coming," Biddy says airily, breaking the silence, "and found Nick home from his shift, so I brought him with me."

She then heads off to the kitchen, muttering something about scotch as she does so, leaving Lucy and Nicholas staring at each other.

"You… you live with Ly?" Lucy asks, stammering.

He nods. It would be imperceptible to most people, she thinks, but she knows the intricacies of Nicholas Flint's facial expressions better than she knows her own.

"I didn't realise you were that good of friends," she murmurs, more to herself than anything, but he still hears.

"You were a common factor," Nick says, almost gently.

"As a friend?" she asks.

He nods. "And a heartbreaker," he says softly, a roguish grin on his face, but it doesn't meet his eyes. Lucy feels like her heart is doing palpitations.

"Do you wanna—?" she asks, jerking her thumb towards the deck to suggest they go outside. He freezes for a moment then nods hesitantly.

They end up outside. She sits on the edge of the deck, ignoring the cold. After a moment, he joins her.

"How's your life?" she asks eventually.

He tilts his head. "In progress."

It's the most Nicholas Flint answer she's ever heard, but she also thinks it's the truest. She doesn't know how to feel about that. She doesn't want him to be sad, of course, but part of her can't help but feel a little touched by the fact that he's not happy without her. She does not like that part of herself.

"How's yours?" he asks.

"It kind of feels like I haven't eaten sweets in a year, and then just chomped down on a Deluxe Sugar Quill instead of sucking it," she says.

He nods. "Sugar rush," he murmurs. "I guess people can do that to you."

She glances sidelong at him, but doesn't say anything. She just watches him, committing his profile to memory.

"How long are you back for this time?" he asks abruptly, and she starts.

"A few days," she says cautiously. "Probably until Tuesday."

He nods. She's starting to think that's half of his behavioural repertoire, but maybe that's just with her.

"Back to say goodbye?" he asks quietly, and she kind of feels like she's been punched in the chest. He's always been able to see right through her, but it's been a long time since he last had the chance to try. She guesses she hadn't realised it was the kind of thing that wouldn't fade.

"Might as well do it right this time," she says instead, trying for nonchalance and hopelessly failing.

He almost smiles, and somehow it's more sad than if he'd cried. "Coming to a reunion to say goodbye," he says, and it's almost bitter, but not quite, and almost amused, but not quite. "If that's not the most Lucy Weasley thing I've ever heard." He shakes his head.

"Am I becoming a cliché?" she asks, smiling slightly.

"You're a lot of things, Lucy Weasley, but stereotypical isn't one of them," he says with a snort.

"I shouldn't have run off like that," she says suddenly. "The summer after seventh. That was—that was cowardly of me."

Nick shrugs slightly. "Hey, I left too. Cleared my head for a while."

"Yeah, but you came back," she points out.

Nick smiles at her, a real smile, and it feels like a shotgun to the heart. "So did you," he says. "Forever or a day—it's still coming back."

Lucy isn't sure she agrees, but she also doesn't think she can stay out here with him for a moment longer without crying or kissing him or saying something she regrets, so she stands up. He stays sitting down, looking out at the snow-covered grass, and she looks down at him. It feels like a beginning. It feels like an end.

Lucy bites her lip. "I'm sorry I fucked up your life," she says.

He looks up at her and almost smiles. "It's not over yet."

* * *

 **a/n.** please don't favourite without reviewing


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